May 8, 2026

Lockheed Opposes Northrop Bid to Remove Firewall on Solid Rocket Motor Business (Source: Breaking Defense)
Northrop Grumman has quietly asked the Federal Trade Commission to remove restrictions on its solid rocket motor business, in a move that competitor Lockheed Martin opposes, setting up a rare regulatory battle between two of the world’s largest defense firms. The FTC’s decision could have implications not only for the defense industrial base, but for the Pentagon’s race to ramp up the production of missiles and backfill its stockpiles — an endeavor dependent on also ramping up the manufacture of solid rocket motors (SRMs). (5/6)

Brussels Shoots to Become the New Sheriff in Space (Source: Courthouse News Service)
Seeking to boost Europe’s space industry and help it catch up with the United States and China, the European Union is developing rules to prevent more junk from clogging Earth’s orbit, safeguard satellites from hackers and create a traffic control system for space. The proposed EU Space Act is an attempt to craft the world’s first chapters of space law that would set some guardrails around a revolution taking place in outer space — its rapid commercialization.

Does outer space need a traffic management system, like airports have, for the more than 14,000 satellites whizzing by overhead? What about pollution and junk in outer space? What are the rules there? Who’s making sure satellites sent into orbit don’t get hacked, causing serious harm to vital tasks back on Earth? The EU Space Act seeks to answer these questions and provide domestic space companies a common set of rules across the 27-nation bloc.

At the same time, it would force outside competitors, particularly American ones, to play by European rules in the race for the stars. Broadly, the law seeks to set up a traffic management system for spacecraft; lay down rules to ensure things launched into space don’t end up as dangerous floating junk or cause preventable pollution; and compel satellite operators to install heavy duty safeguards against cyberattacks. (5/6)

Why This Leader Calls Africa The New Eldorado For The Global Space Business (Source: Forbes)
As celestial prowess becomes a source for geopolitical strength, Africa’s capacity in the projected trillion-dollar space sector will influence its global sway. With as much at stake, the African Space Agency (AfSA) was formed in April 2025. AfSA, headquartered in Egypt, was years in the making, beginning in January 2016 when an African Union (AU) assembly adopted the African Space Policy and Strategy.

Despite its extensiveness across various topics and sub-agendas, a running theme throughout the declaration is its ambition for harmony within. “Regional collaboration is not just important, it is the defining principle of Africa’s space future,” said AfSA President Ouattara Tidiane. “By sharing infrastructure, harmonizing policies and regulatory framework, and aligning and leveraging investments, we reduce costs, avoid duplication, and accelerate progress."

With Africa’s space industry expected to reach $39.52 billion by 2030, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 7.97%, all signs point to a region prioritizing the cosmos. And for good reason. The downsides of foreign satellite reliance are immense. In a world where data is currency, establishing a competitive space presence is a matter of wealth and autonomy; and not doing so could cement irreversible dependency. (5/6)

Rocket Lab Awarded $30 Million Contract for HASTE Hypersonic Rocket Launches for Anduril (Source: Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab has been selected by defense technology company Anduril Industries for multiple hypersonic test flights with its HASTE launch vehicle. The partnership brings together two defense industry leaders to advance one of the Department of War's most critical technology areas: scaled hypersonics that deliver Mach 5 and beyond capabilities for future defense missions. In a showcase of Rocket Lab’s responsive space capabilities, the first of these three missions is set to launch in less than 12 months: demonstrating contract to launch in a matter of months, not years. (5/7)

Rocket Lab To Acquire Robotics Leader Motiv Space Systems (Source: Rocket Lab)
Rocket Lab has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Motiv Space Systems, a California-based company specializing in space robotics, motion control systems, and precision mechanisms for spacecraft. The acquisition will add Mars-proven robotics heritage and capability for advanced planetary and national security missions, and also close one of the final gaps in Rocket Lab's vertical integration strategy by bringing in house costly and supply-constrained spacecraft components, including solar array drive assemblies (SADAs) and other precision mechanisms and motion control systems.

The acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter of 2026 subject to the completion of customary closing conditions. Motiv – which will be branded Rocket Lab Robotics – is renowned for its advanced multi-degree of freedom robotic arms, actuators, and drive electronics that have enabled some of the most ambitious space missions, including NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover. (5/7)

Soon-to-Be SpaceX Billionaires are Gearing Up for a Windfall (Source: New York Post)
SpaceX’s looming IPO is set to mint more new billionaires than any liquidity event in history. Investors and employees are rushing to prepare for the windfall. “It’s completely life changing,” an anonymous source who invested in SpaceX nearly 20 years ago told me. While she’s made many successful investments, this single bet could increase her net worth 20 fold. “I didn’t think I’d be a billionaire,” she added.

SpaceX is expected to list on the Nasdaq in June, and the company’s valuation could exceed $2 trillion, making it the largest company ever to go public. (5/7)

Contractor Conversion Flaws Arise At NASA (Source: NASA Watch)
I have been hearing of some concern at NASA KSC (and elsewhere around NASA too) about a perceived rush to convert core functions from contractors to civil servants. At a top level there is a certain logic to this. But when reality pops up it gets messy. One issue has to do with waiving education requirements to retain civil servant expertise. Again, this makes some sense – people who have been doing the job and doing it well should be allowed to continue regardless of where they got their experience.

But when this is put in practice it is totally different. Some of the engineering folks at KSC have 10, 20, 30+ years of experience but are lacking college degrees. They are being told that this prevent or limits their ability to be converted from contractor to civil servant. At the Launch Equipment Test Facility (LETF) the younger contractor engineers with degrees were converted – but the ‘legacy’ (older) engineers were laid off – and with them a lot of space muscle memory went out the door.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman responded to this issue on social media: "This is not true. The education requirement was dated and I addressed. If you are good enough to be an engineer as a NASA contractor you are good enough to be an engineer as a NASA civil servant." (5/7)

Dishonoring Public Service - Fewer Nominees for 2026 Heyman Medals, None From NASA (Sources: Washington Post, Partnership for Public Service)
The 25th annual Oscars-like ceremony for federal workers — the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals — honored the civil service under five previous administrations. But the current occupant of the White House specifically went unnamed Wednesday night. Fewer civil servants were nominated and received awards after many federal workers expressed a fear of retaliation if they drew too much attention, said Max Stier, chief executive of the Partnership for Public Service.

In total, the nonprofit organization received more than 140 nominations across 39 federal agencies and other offices, down from more than 350 nominations across 65 federal agencies and other offices last year. Stier said some people who were nominated asked that their names not be considered at all, though the Partnership for Public Service declined to provide further information about those who did not partake in this year’s event. “The workforce that remains has worried about what might happen to them if they’re recognized,” Stier said.

Editor's Note: Two NASA employees were honored in 2025, including John Blevins, Ph.D. (MSFC) and Richard Burns (GSFC). No NASA employees were among the 2026 honorees, but James Szykman of the EPA won for leading a cross-agency collaboration that validated NASA's TEMPO satellite to improve air pollution monitoring. (5/7)

Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska USA (Source: GSA)
Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska stands as a defining example of how bold decisions can reshape an industry. Established in the 1990s as the Kodiak Launch Complex, it became the first FAA-licensed U.S. launch site independent of federal ranges, opening new pathways for commercial flexibility and innovation.

Positioned at the nation’s northernmost orbital launch site, PSCA provides unmatched access to a wide range of orbital inclinations, supporting missions from small satellite deployment to advanced defense testing. Its state-owned, self-sustaining model has driven continuous evolution, enabling cost efficiencies, new capabilities, and diversified revenue streams.

From a greenfield concept to a thriving economic engine, PSCA’s legacy reflects independence, adaptability, and forward-thinking leadership. Its story continues to guide the next generation of spaceports as they build for a more dynamic and commercially driven future. Click here. (4/30)

Overview Energy Wins Air Force Contract to Study Space-Based Solar Power for Military Bases (Source: Space News)
Overview Energy has won a contract from the U.S. Air Force to study beaming space solar power to military installations, reviving a concept studied two decades ago. The startup, based in Ashburn, Virginia, announced May 6 it received a contract from the Secretary of the Air Force for Installation, Energy and Environment to study how space-based solar power could provide power to military installations, particularly in remote locations. (5/6)

Space Force To Add $4.4 Billion To RG-XX Contracting Vehicle (Source: Aviation Week)
The U.S. Space Force plans to add $4.4 billion for a nascent program to build next-generation space domain awareness satellites for geosynchronous orbit, a May 4 government notice says. The service in April awarded 14 companies a cumulative $1.84 billion contract to build those next-generation reconnaissance systems under a program called RG-XX, and surveillance satellites under an effort known as SG-XX, via a new contracting vehicle it calls Andromeda. (5/7)

What Has to Happen if NASA Wants to Land on the Moon Every Month (Source: Ars Technica)
The fundamentals for high-frequency missions to the lunar surface are in place. NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program has assembled a roster of commercial providers to design and build robotic Moon landers. NASA has penciled in nine lunar landings for next year, followed by 10 in 2028.

NASA and its commercial partners must pick up the pace to come anywhere close to that. Isaacman acknowledged this in a Senate hearing last week. “We have to do more than talk,” Isaacman said. “For a very long time across all of NASA, we’ve talked a really good game but then we kind of sit and wait for our vendors and partners to deliver outcomes, and as a result we tend to be late and it tends to cost more, so how do you change that?”

One way, Isaacman said, is for NASA to offer more aid to the companies it is paying to develop Moon landers. “You start to embed subject matter experts across the supply chain to drive outcomes,” he said. “I don’t want to sit and watch on TV as a lander tips over,” Isaacman said. “I want a high batting average here, a high probability of success. I think the way you do that is you leverage a lot of the NASA expertise, incorporate it in the supply chain, and drive the outcomes that we’re looking for.” Click here. (5/6)

Solar Activity Makes Space Junk Crash to Earth Faster (Source: Space.com)
In the new study, researchers measured the trajectories of 17 pieces of space junk in low Earth orbit over a 36-year span, starting two generations ago. "For the first time, we find that, once solar activity passes a certain level, this loss of altitude happens noticeably more quickly," said Ayisha Ashruf. "This observation is expected to be key for planning sustainable space operations in the future." (5/6)

‘Whatever Russia Is Testing, It’s Sophisticated’: 2 Russian Satellites Get Within 10 Feet of Each Other in Orbit (Source: Space.com)
Two Russian spacecraft just demonstrated a very particular set of orbital skills. The satellites, known as COSMOS 2581 and COSMOS 2583, got within just 10 feet or so of each other on April 28. "This wasn't a coincidental pass — COSMOS 2583 performed several fine maneuvers to maintain this tight configuration," COMSPOC wrote. The two satellites and a third one, COSMOS 2582, launched to low Earth orbit in February 2025 atop a Soyuz rocket. According to COMSPOC, all three of them were involved in the recent rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO), as was "Object F," a subsatellite previously deployed by COSMOS 2583. During the 10-foot close approach, "COSMOS 2582 trailed the formation at sub-100 km range, while Object F passed within 15 km of 2582 and within 10 km of 2581. (5/6)